Home again
by stargateloversg1
Summary: Elizabeth is back at Atlantis after the end of 2x2 The Intruder, she is hurt by Simon but through the ending of their relationship new ways show up in front of her. Definitely sparky
1. Chapter 1

At the end of 2x2 The Intruder Elizabeth reflects the events on earth, what happened between her and Simon and she goes even further back to the one time John had shown her how he felt about her.

This is going to be sparky!

* * *

Elizabeth was glad to be home again. And that was what Atlantis had became to her: home. With the rest of her senior staff she quickly stepped up the impressive staircase to the control room to meet Teyla. The Athosian women greeted them friendly and welcomed them home. She had, of course, everything under control while Elizabeth was gone. While Teyla congratulated John to his promotion to the status of a Lieutenant Colonel, Elizabeth smiled at John, she felt proudness about him, and she knew he would take his new position very serious. Teyla also told them that there were several reports by her off-world contacts but still no news of Lieutenant Ford. Elizabeth listened with one ear and at the same time looked over the reports one of her scientists showed her on a tablet. John dismissed himself with a charming: "Ladies" and went away to read the reports on Ford.

"I'm sorry your journey was so difficult", Teyla told Elizabeth who was still investigating the information the scientist was showing her.

"Well", Elizabeth said, looking up and making the way for her office. "We got here, that's what counts."

Following her, Teyla said: "Still, it must have been pleasant to return to Earth. A chance to reunite with your friends and loved ones."

Elizabeth had no reply to this and answered with a simple smile. Her stay on Earth had not been quite what she expected but before she could give it any further thought she heard someone calling her name.

"Dr. Weir! Dr. Weir, I'm glad you're back", Zelenka was calling, hurrying after her in her office. "We have several reports with new information on the city. Ever since we installed ZPM, we've made many interesting discoveries."

Elizabeth couldn't help but smile on the excitement she heard in the voice and saw in the face of the scientist who wanted to hand her a tablet but Teyla interfered.

"Can this not wait? Dr. Weir has only just arrived", she said in her warm, polite voice.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I...", Zelenka began, looking a bit puzzled but Elizabeth interrupted him gently.

"No, it's fine, really." It would be good to have work to do, other than on the Daedalus where Colonel Caldwell didn't let her move one finger. It would keep her mind off of unpleasant things that happened on Earth as well. "Let's get back to work."

Zelenka smiled again and hurried back, Teyla too left the office with a last look at Elizabeth, although she smiled she could see that the Athosian was worried.

Holding the tablet Zelenka gave her in both hands she turned around, looking through the glass walls of her office with a perfect view to the staircase. A lot of new members were just arriving, they would begin to settle in and start their work, expanding the expedition. Elizabeth's gaze went through her office. Yes, she was happy to be on Atlantis again, she had missed this city dearly, the walls, the hallways, all those rooms and towers, many of them still unexplored. Out of all things she had missed the ocean the most, the sound of the sea. The absence of this particular noise had given her a hard time sleeping. But now she was back, back where she belonged, nothing had changed.

She was good at keeping her mind off things she didn't want to bother her, she had learned to keep her thoughts under control as well as the words that came out of her mouth, her movements and simply everything. This was her strength: self-control. It helped her with every delicate affair, every negotiation she had gone through, it never let her down.

Almost.

Only a few weeks ago she let her guard down only for a moment. It was the moment after the siege of the wraith, when she had thought, she had lost John forever but then suddenly he stood in front of her again, smiling his enchanting smile and looking around as if he too had not been sure to enjoy this sight again. She had not known what came upon her, but she hugged him, really hugged him, in front of the whole gate room, everyone could see them and everyone did see them. For a second it didn't matter to her, for a second she was just overwhelmed with joy and relief that John was still there, that he had come back. In this second, John had hugged her as well, hesitantly, but honest.

Very soon this moment had been gone, they had a small conversation about stopping to think they were loosing each other, and then they went on with their work, as usual, as if nothing had happened.

Elizabeth drew her thoughts off this memory but couldn't shake off the feeling of his arms around her. She shook her head when another scientist came in to show her another new discovery they had made while she was gone. She had to catch up on a lot of things, it would take her a few days to settle in again. Aside of the new expedition members the Daedalus was still in orbit, it would be there for a while which gave Elizabeth an uncomfortable feeling. She knew that she shouldn't think like that, but she and Colonel Caldwell had agreed implicit of not liking each other. She hoped that this wouldn't affect their work together. She couldn't use another problem.

* * *

She worked until late in the night, midnight had past a few hours ago, the city became calm, the busy hum had quit down, most of the people were asleep. Elizabeth came to her feet, stretched her arms and started on her way to the quarters. As soon as work didn't occupy her mind anymore the thoughts on what happened on Earth were back, especially what happened between Simon and her.

She felt a sting in her heart, thinking of him Simon. In her room she sank on the edge of her bed, still feeling the pain of the break up. She had not seen it coming. Or had she? How could she have been so blind? Why did she expect him to wait for her and to come back with her on Atlantis. She knew the answer to these questions. 'Love blinds', she told herself, getting undressed and putting on a dressing gown.

It was true, she loved Simon with all her heart, loved him and missed him while she was gone but if she was entirely honest to herself she knew, she too had detached herself from Simon over the year she were gone. So much had happened. So much had changed. She was sure that she as a person had changed and maybe Simon had changed as well.

She stepped onto the balcony of her room, the view over the city, sparkling like the stars above in the night, was magnificent. Simon would have liked it, she thought. She remembered his hair that he had let become longer while she was gone, she remembered the new wrinkles in his face. They had not even kissed. They had not even touched. Not once. She had hoped he would come back with her, she hoped to continue this relationship which made her grow as a person. Simon was the only man she had ever loved from the bottom of her heart. The only man that made her happy. And now?

She dragged the gown tighter around her body as a chilly breeze brushed her and leaned onto the railing, gazing upon the endless ocean, mirroring the thousand lights of the city and the stars.

Simon had hurt her deeply. It had never crossed her mind that he would be able to do such a thing. She felt betrayed, hurt and, worst of all, lonely. For all the time she had been in Atlantis, she had never been lonely because in her mind Simon was waiting for her to come home. It was a cruel assumption, she understood that quite clearly now but it didn't justify him starting a new life without her.

But that was exactly what she had done. She buried her face in her hands, the elbows resting on the railing. It was true, she could not avoid the truth. But why though, why did it hurt so much?

The sight blurred for a moment when her eyes filled with tears. Hastily she blinked them away, looking around as if somebody could possibly have seen her. She had not shed a tear for a long time, not even when Simon told her he had met someone. Not even the several times she thought she had lost John.

John… Her thoughts lingered on him for a while. He was one of those people he really got to know here on Atlantis, one of the people she called a friend, a close friend. He loved taking risks, loved being lazy and still got all his work done, loved teasing and sometimes he behaved like a little boy, but he still was one of the most qualified persons she had the luck being here on this mission. And she was glad to have the full trust and full support of the head of military. It made a lot of things easier.

Her heartbeat got a little bit higher when she remembered this one situation she had learned about the feelings of, back then, Major Sheppard.

* * *

 _It had been some hard weeks, the Genii had tried to take over the city, a huge tsunami jeopardized the city and Kolya had his fun telling John that he had killed her, Elizabeth._

 _She had lost several of her military crew and one whole team of scientist within a short period of time, the pressure on her position grew, and she felt an increasing dissatisfaction towards her from some people in her crew. It was not an easy time, she slept even less than usual and barely took a meal. One evening her in her quarters, she was just outside on the balcony, drinking water and thinking about the people she had lost in the last six months. It were too many and for her it was not easy to cope with it. She had heard the doors of her quarters open and knew without looking that it was John. Something in his presence made her attentive. "You should try out this thing", he said, not coming beside her but stopping one step behind her. "It's called sleep." She heard in his voice that he was chuckling but there was another nuance, he was worried._

 _She didn't turn back, what were she supposed to tell him? That the faces of the dead visited her time she tried to sleep, talking to hear, insulting her, accusing her, laughing at her and letting her wake up in the middle of the night, sweating and with difficulties to breath?_

 _Suddenly she felt his hand on her shoulder, near to her neck. "Wow, Elizabeth, your shoulders are as hard as a rock", he told her, gently starting to massage her neck and shoulders. She leaned her head forward, giving him more space to proceed. He used pressure on the exact spots where it hurt the most. She didn't complain, she knew she needed it however she did not expect to get this kind of treatment especially from him. She felt him coming closer, now standing directly behind her, his clothes rustling on hers, still kneading the knots on her neck._

 _She did not now how much time had passed but all of a sudden she felt a warm breeze at her neck and one moment later his lips lightly touched her delicate skin. She froze, she couldn't move at all as his one hand still massaged her neck while the other slid down her side, resting on her hip, carefully pulling her closer. She closed her eyes when he pressed another light kiss on her neck._

" _John", she whispered placing one hand on his hand on her hip and moving away just an inch. She turned around, the look in his eyes was new to her, worried and full of love at the same time. Tenderly he stroked a lock out of her forehead and let his hand cup her cheek._

" _Elizabeth, you need to relax at some point. I have seen you nothing but working in the last ten days. You gotta collapse some time soon." His thumb gently stroke the part under her eye._

 _She enjoyed the gentle touch, it has been months since someone came this near to her. They held each others eyes for a long time and eventually John leaned forward to kiss her, but she turned away her head just a little bit so his lips only caught her cheek._

" _John", she whispered again. "I… I can't..."_

 _When she lifted her eyes to him she could see hurt and sorrow in his eyes. "I'm sorry", she whispered and took a step back, glad that he let her go and did not try to hold her close._

" _Why?", he asked, looking confused and lost._

 _She knew that she didn't have to justify herself but for some reason she felt like John deserved an explanation._

" _It's only...", she began, trying hard to keep herself together. "I am technically still in a relationship."_

 _She could see that he was not expecting her to say that. "I didn't know that", he mumbled, looking at his feet._

" _You couldn't", she said, trying to catch his eyes. "I never told anyone here."_

" _So he is on earth?", John asked, his eyes still on his feet._

 _Elizabeth nodded. "Yes. His name is Simon. We have been together for a long, long time now. He helped me a lot through my time as a diplomat. He rarely accompanied me on my flights, but he was always there, when I came back, he was always there when I needed to hear a voice of reason..." She stopped talking. Why did she tell him all that? It was not in interesting for him at all, on the contrary it would make him feel even worse._

" _I am truly sorry, John", she said in a warm voice. "I… did not know you were… you had… you thought this way of me." It took her longer than usual to form a proper sentence._

" _Yeah…_ _I mean..." He made an uncertain move with his hand. "It doesn't matter now anyway." With these words he made his way for the door, only looking back once just to find her standing where he left her, eyes fixed on him with an apologizing look in her face._

 _It took some time, a few weeks, before his behavior returned to normal. He avoided conversations only between the two of them, didn't look at her and hardly talked. She missed him, although he was always around but the relation they had created over the past six months had been disrupted. To Elizabeth's relief not permanently. As time went by John came more often to see her again in her office, even if it was just to say hi, they talked sometimes even outside of work, conversations Elizabeth enjoyed in particular. But he never made a move on her again. She was glad how things had played out. She liked John a lot, but she was not able to cheat on Simon, she could never cheat on anybody, it was not her thing to do. Not willingly. And as long as she was with Simon she would not allow herself to any other romantic relations of any kind._

* * *

Now she was back on Atlantis and more solitary than ever. She had lost her last connection to earth, the connection called Simon. It never occurred to her that their relationship could end, it never occurred to her that she might be single again. Never. Now she was, and she was not very fond of it. Here on Atlantis nobody would be interested in her, nobody would want to be with the leader, nobody but John, and she had a feeling that his emotions concerning her were only there for a short period of time. She did not sense anything from him since he first revealed his feelings for her the last time.

TBC

* * *

I hope you liked it so far, I plan to continue it. Feel free to write a review and tell me what you liked or disliked. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

Time passes quickly if you are the head of an expedition which goes out to another galaxy. Elizabeth noticed this on several occasions, lately when she came back from Earth, not longer in a relationship with Simon and insecure about what to do with her personal feelings now. In order to not think about how lonely she was she had her mind constantly on work, she did not let herself have a free evening, she did not relax, she did no long walks on the outer parts of the city anymore where no one could disturb her. Without anybody noticing she completely retreated from the rest of the crew on a social level. She avoided meals in the mess and the only contact she had with others was during meetings, conferences, mission briefings and the occasional conversations with people who had a personal issue they needed to discuss with her.

She was able to cope with the loneliness quite good she thought but after a few weeks she observed that her behavior slowly seemed to take its toll. She barely slept, she had a very poor appetite, and she was increasingly depressed, which, of course, nobody was allowed to notice. Elizabeth was an expert in hiding emotions but this time it was particularly difficult. She turned Teyla down several times, the Athosian woman asked her at least two or three times to join her for an evening, going for a walk or to the mainland, just spend some time together. To Elizabeth's relief she found herself always something incredibly important to do to deflect these events.

But at one moment Elizabeth realized that her behavior was not going to lead her anywhere, she would not be able to stand this amount of stress, suppressing of feelings and loneliness on a long run, but she had already gone so far she didn't know how to turn back, so she continued with her habits until one day at the end of a briefing with John's team she held the Colonel back.

"John, one moment please. I would like to talk to you in private for a moment", she said while everyone else was already getting up and leaving the room. John tried to hide it, but she could see his astonishment.

"Don't worry, Colonel", she said, neatly arraying the documents in front of her on one pile. "I just wanted to ask you if you would mind joining me for dinner tonight."

She was at least as surprised as John when she said those words and if she were completely honest to herself she did not know when this thought had first popped into her head.

John stared at her, and she lifted one of her eyebrows. "I'm sorry, it was not my intention to horrify you." She forced herself not to swallow and to keep a straight face, she did not want to see him that him hesitating gave her a sting into the heart.

"No… I mean… I would like that", he finally answered and Elizabeth couldn't help but smile a little. Quickly she turned her look down at her records and nodded.

"Perfect, let's say… 8 o'clock, my quarters?"

"Sounds great", John replied smiling. "Any particular dress code?"

Chuckling Elizabeth looked up. "Just wear whatever you want. Personally I might take the chance to wear something different from my work clothes." She suddenly couldn't help but imagine John in civil clothes, a blue shirt, top buttons open…

"Fantastic", John said, smiling at her. "See you tonight."

* * *

Elizabeth took a deep breath after John left the conference room and shook her head. What has gotten into her? Did she just ask John out for a date? I almost seemed like it. Now the only problem was to bridge the time until 8pm. She was unable to forget the sound in his voice, he was genuinely looking forward to the dinner!

She wasn't as concentrated as usual when she got back to work. On hour before the 'date' she left her office to take a quick shower and to put on something less work-like. She decided to wear a green blouse and one of the necklaces she brought back from earth but hardly wore. It had been a present of her father, the last one he gave her. She realized that she had only 10 minutes to get ready until John was expected. She set the table, the food was already being brought from the kitchen, and lighted a candle. It was darkening outside and she dimmed the head light to a pleasant brightness but not as dark it would seem odd.

To her own surprise she realized that she was nervous, her hands were cold and sweaty and her heartbeat was higher than usual, but there was no time to worry about these issues because at this moment the door opened and John entered. He _was_ in civil, wearing bluejeans and a light blue shirt, in his hand he held a bottle of wine. He looked incredibly handsome, especially with this bewitching smile.

"The last one I brought from Earth", he grinned, holding up the bottle, and stepped closer to the table.

"What a nice gesture, thank you", Elizabeth replied smiling. "I'll get something to open it up."

While looking for a bottle screw she watched John out of the corner of her eye, looking around and smiling at the candle. "Here you go", she finally said and passed him the cork puller. She watched every movement he made, he seemed comfortable and in a very light mood, free from work and obligations. She liked his mood and allowed herself to get in a similar state of mind although she could never get her mind completely off work.

He poured two glasses of wine and handed her one of them, raising the other one. "To...", he began, not sure how to continue.

"A calm and relaxed evening", Elizabeth continued his sentence, clinking her glass gently against his'. He nodded and watched her while taking a sip of his wine. She could not make out the look in his eyes, was it anticipation? Was it nervousness? She could not imagine him being nervous about this evening, he had to be used to go on dates.

They took a seat and started eating, she noticed a certain sparkle in his eyes, it was not the same as usual, not the excited, seeking-for-an-adventure-sparkle but one that was far more gently but also a bit teasing.

"Thank you for coming tonight", Elizabeth suddenly said. They were been eating in silence until then, but it had not been an uncomfortable silence. She was glad to notice that they could be in one room alone without the pressure of having a conversation.

"It's my pleasure", he said, taking another sip of his wine, his smile making her heart skip a beat.

Elizabeth realized, that it had been literally years since she had been to a date, but she did not say it out loud. She suddenly felt old. The only real relationship she ever had was the one with Simon, there were other men before him but it was never that serious.

John observed her closely. "What's on your mind?", he asked.

Mentally she cursed herself, she had to be more careful, he was better than anyone in reading her face, she could not let it happen too often. "Nothing", she lied, lifting her eyes just to find him looking disbelievingly at her. "Well… I was just thinking that it's been a while since I did… this." Her gaze dropped on her plate.

Suddenly his hand reached over the table and laid down onto hers, which was laying beside her plate. "Hey, that's nothing to be ashamed of, okay?"

A stirring went through her body at the moment he touched her. His hand was rough but warm, she enjoyed the touch of it a bit too much.

"Thank you, but I guess you don't know what it feels like."

He shrugged and took his hand back, however he could not take back the sensation Elizabeth still felt on her hand.

They finished eating, talked about everything that happened on Atlantis, drinking wine enjoying the time off. Elizabeth allowed herself to have fun, to laugh at John's jokes which seemed to please him a lot. After a while they went outside on the balcony. The stars that were so different than on Earth mirrored on the wide ocean, the city glowed in the dark.

"She is beautiful, isn't she?", Elizabeth asked, gazing onto the innumerable towers.

"She is", she heard John saying but knew all of a sudden that he was not talking about the city. She turned, and saw him casually leaning in the door frame, closely watching her.

She held his eyes for a moment, and felt herself taking a step towards him. He too came closer, in the middle of the balcony they met, standing so close they could feel each others' breath. He was quite a bit taller than her, and she liked it. She liked his smell, today he seemed to smell especially nice, she liked every feature about him. Her eyes wandered upon his face, from his eyes over his cheek- and jawbone, so well shaped and finally they found a rest on his lips. They were so beautifully shaped, they looked so smoothe… One moment later Elizabeth felt herself stretching to reach his lips with hers, in the same moment he leaned down, and when their lips met Elizabeth thought the air between them was sizzling. A second later there was no air between them anymore for John had put his arms around her and gently pulled her nearer. She felt his body on hers and her heart started to beat at least twice its normal speed. A bit hesitantly she wrapped her arms around him, one hand resting in his neck, the other one on his muscular back.

The kiss was so light and tender Elizabeth felt as if a butterfly touched her lips, she couldn't remember the last time she was kissed with so much affection or the last time she felt so affectionate towards another person. But suddenly his lips where gone and instead she felt his forehead on hers. Both had their eyes closed, she could hear his breath, more rapid than normally.

"Elizabeth… why now? I thought..." She heard the confusion at the same time as she heard the happiness in his voice.

"You thought what?", she asked, gently caressing his neck.

"I thought", he said, looking at her closely. "I thought you were with this guy on Earth… Si…"

Elizabeth shook her head vigorously. "No", she said a bit louder than she had planned. Closing her eyes for a moment she gathered herself together and looked at him again, seeming calm on the outside. "Not anymore. We… we broke up a few weeks ago, when we visited Earth." She could not meet his eyes, but when she felt his hand on her chin she had no choice but to look up.

"I'm sorry to hear that", John said, and she could tell that he meant it. At the same time she could remark a change in his posture, he seemed to grow another inch, suddenly holding her closer.

"Do I need an explanation why I want to spend an evening with my military officer?", Elizabeth asked, fixing a point over his left shoulder. She knew that everyone would expect an explanation, but she hoped that John didn't want to hear one, at least not today.

"Maybe not now", he said to her delight, gently brushing her cheek with his fingers.

"Thank you", she whispered and leaned forward to meet his lips again. He did not disappoint her. This time his lips felt different, still light and smooth, still warm and tender but with a touch more of self conscience. There was no way to tell herself that she did not like it, she loved it. She leaned into the kiss, slowly opening her mouth for him, ready to feel his tongue exploring her. He had to smile when she noticed that something held him back as if he was not sure what he was allowed to do. She would show him. Affectionately she reached out with her tongue, meeting his and softly playing with it. She felt him becoming more courageous as he began to explore her, his one hand on the small of her back, holding her close, the other one in her hair.

She loved the touch of his hands, the feeling of his body pressed on hers, loved the intensity of his kiss, just loved everything about this moment. Her body felt like she was in heaven, nobody had ever kissed her like that, not even Simon, nobody had caused such a suspense in her body in such a short time, nobody ever held her like this.

Her hand was in his hair, the other one drew patterns on his back, she leaned further into the kiss, getting more intense when suddenly her radio got off. "Dr. Weir", she heard someone saying. "Dr. Weir are you there?"

Reluctantly she backed out from the kiss, resting her forehead on his shoulder. She did not want to leave this moment, leave his secure arms, his scent, the touch of his lips…

"Dr. Weir?", she heard her radio again.

"I should get going", she mumbled, dreamlike disengaging from his arms. This time she was pleased about how reluctantly he let her go. She grabbed her radio and answered. "It's Weir. What happened?", she asked, her eyes fixing those of John.

"Dr. Weir, could you please come to the botanic lab?", Dr Fulmer asked.

"Is it urgent?", Elizabeth asked against her usual habit.

"Yes, you are going to want to see this", Fulmer answered, his voice was full of excitement.

Elizabeth sighed inaudible. "I'm on my way." With these words she put the radio down.

"I'm sorry, John", she said, still looking at him. "Fulmer has something he wants to show me. I assume it has something to do with those very fast self healing mushrooms." She shook her head. As important as that sounded she would rather stay here with him.

"I get it", John said. "You are still the leader of… all this." He made a gesture with his hands indicating the whole city.

"I hope this was not the last time we come together like this", she said, grabbing her jacket already on the way to the door, her mind already back on the work that was to cone. She stopped when she felt his hand on her arm, pulling her around. The next thing she knew was his mouth on hers, and she felt the most intense kiss up to this moment. It lasted only a second but it was enough to left her panting.

"And I hope the next time we pick up right where we left it", he whispered, lightly kissing her cheek. "Now you better get going", he said and released her.

It took Elizabeth a moment until she could see and think clear again but a few seconds later on the hallway she was already in her role as the leader of Atlantis, focused on the things Fulmer would show her, but with the time she shared with John always in the back of her mind.

* * *

This was the second chapter to my story. I hope you enjoyed it, I am sorry for the mistakes, but English is not my first language.

Btw I love reading reviews :)

Thank you for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

The one evening Elizabeth had spent with John gave her strength for the weeks that followed without the two of them having the chance to meet in private again. Things were going tough with the Wraith and the Genii, an epidemic disease had spread over Atlantis and every day new discoveries in the city were found.

One evening John came into Elizabeth's office, a canny smile on his lips that could not leave Elizabeth untouched. She smiled as well, wondering what he was up to that put him in such a good mood.

"So, last time you took me out, now it's my turn", John said without any introduction.

Elizabeth raised her eyebrow. "So?" His words had made her heart jump a little. She could not wait to be alone with him again, the last time had been wonderful. There had been many evenings since where she had relived the evening in her mind, especially vivid was the touch of his lips. The thought of it made her feel very warm.

"Yep. And with now I mean tonight", he continued.

"Tonight?", Elizabeth asked, checking her schedule for the evening.

"I checked your schedule, you are free tonight. There is nothing that can't wait till tomorrow", John said with a wide grin. He had done his homework.

"How did you get your eyes on my schedule?", she asked frowning.

"Rodney helped me hack into your tablet", John told her openly without any appearance of regret.

"You hacked into my personal tablet?", she asked disbelievingly. This was a bit too much even for him. "How did you get Rodney to do this?"

John smirked. "What do you think I did? I threatened him with a lemon."

Elizabeth shook her head and John seemed to realize that she had not agreed yet to their date. "So? Are you in? I mean, I've already got everything prepared so you kinda can't back out anymore", John added.

With a sigh Elizabeth looked up, she could need a break indeed. She was extremely tense in the last days and some relaxing would be good for her and for everyone else. She had noticed that her being stressed had an impact on the rest of the crew as well. "Alright", she said. "What time?"

"Meet me at 2000 at the north pier", John said. "And bring a jacket, it might get chilly." He winked as if he did not believe himself saying this. There was no way not to think about what his plans were.

"Are we having a picnic?", Elizabeth asked raising one eyebrow.

"You'll have to find out yourself" John said grinning and turned around, leaving her alone in her office, still with two hours of work ahead of her, her mind flustered.

* * *

This evening it took her longer to prepare than last time. She wanted to look nice tonight, so she took a shower, put on a subtle perfume she wore on very rare occasions. It had been a long time since she had to really think about which clothes she should wear, in the end she decided to put on a red blouse and fashionable but comfortable pants, she even put on some mascara. Her face flushed as she looked into the mirror, ready to go on this date, fully dressed and yes, nervous again. What did John expect to get out of this date tonight? What did he plan? What would happen if anybody saw them together tonight? It would not be a problem if the became a couple, at least there were no particular rules against it but it would be disapproved by the IOA for sure.

Because she did not want to be late she left her quarters ten minutes before 8pm, relieved that nobody saw her in her extraordinary appearance. She took the transporter to the north pier, to be precise to the place that was closest. John was waiting in front of the transporter, beaming at her as she stepped out and closely investigating her outfit for a moment.

"You look stunning", he said smiling and offered her his arm.

"A real gentleman", she said smiling and hooked herself in.

"I am always a gentleman", John said, smiling at her.

She bit back a laugh as they started walking towards the pier, the sky was colored red and orange by the descending sun, the air tasted salty, a detail Elizabeth learned to love on Atlantis.

They did no talking while they strolled along the pier, getting farther and farther away of the core of the city. Elizabeth enjoyed every moment, every part of their being together. However, work did not leave her mind, every few seconds she had to remind herself that this was a free evening, not packed with work but packed with the presence of a wonderful man who deserved her attention.

"Here we are", John said suddenly as they turned around a corner and stood at the end of a pier. At the edge near the water John had prepared a picnic. On a blanket were dishes, candles and food, mostly from the mainland, seat cushions were there for both of them and a little bit aside Elizabeth saw a few more warm blankets.

The sight left her speechless. Everything here looked so neat and as if it was put there with a lot of thought and love. She turned to John, not able to say anything.

"You like it?", he asked looking a bit uncertain.

"I love it", Elizabeth told him, swiftly touching his cheek. "It is wonderful."

Out here nobody would see them, nobody would know they were here and nobody would hear them. They were completely alone. This thought made her heart go a little faster.

"Let's sit down and eat", John suggested and made an inviting gesture to the blanket. With a broad smile Elizabeth sat down, legs crossed, on the left cushion, and her eyes gazed upon the water and to the magnificent colorful sunset.

"You chose this place on purpose", she mumbled, eyes fixed on the red and golden clouds that racked over the sky.

"I do nothing without a purpose", John said smiling. "But I got lucky. We haven't had this nice weather in the last days."

As she looked at him she could see relief on his face for a moment. "What were you worrying about?", she asked.

"Nothing", he said and handed her basket with fresh bread that the Athosians baked on the mainland. He also brought fresh vegetables, fruits and other specialties the Athosians made. There was a bottle of wine too, Elizabeth could only guess where he had gotten it.

She shook her head. "So this is why you wanted to go to the mainland today? To fetch all these things?"

He shrugged, grinning, it was obvious that he was very satisfied of how everything worked out.

"You're unbelievable", she told him, her eyes stopping on a small bowl with berries.

"Did you know that on almost every picnic date the man brings strawberries?", Elizabeth asked chuckling.

"They didn't have strawberries", John said instead of a reply. "But these are even better than strawberries. Wine?", he asked, already pouring two glasses of a dark red wine.

"Thank you", she said and raised the glass he handed her.

"To a free evening with hopefully no interruptions", John said, clinking his glass against hers.

Elizabeth smiled and sipped her wine. She had brought a radio of course, it was her responsibility to do so, but she too hoped she would not need it.

The dinner was excellent. It did not often happen that a meal consisted exclusively of fresh food of the main land. Elizabeth enjoyed every bite of it. When they had finished they cleared up and sat down again. The sun had sunken into the sea, left nothing but a burning sky.

"You know, you looked better in the last few weeks", John said suddenly. Instead of watching the every second change of the colors of the sky he studied Elizabeth from the side. "I mean… you look like you finally got some sleep."

"I did, thank you", Elizabeth answered not taking her eyes off the horizon. "However I'm still tense", she said, winking at him, hoping he would get the reference to the first time he showed his feelings to her and hoping he would understand that this time she would not reject him.

It was needless to say that he got the hint because a moment later he had shifted behind her, gently starting to massage her neck. "Yeah, it didn't get worse though but I guess that's because there are no more muscles to be tensed anymore."

Elizabeth closed her eyes for a moment, the tense kneading of his hands was hurtful, but a good hurtful, the one where you know that you would feel better after it. She felt that he really tried to loosen her strained muscles, and she leaned into it, almost hoping he would do the same thing as last time. But he didn't, not for a long time. After a while she realized that his hands were not only on her neck and shoulders, instead they wandered down her back, drawing circles and loosening muscles. Suddenly she felt his hands on her hips, pulling her closer to him, his breath was on her cheek and a moment later he buried his face in her neck. She raised a hand and put it on the back of his head, eyes closed she gently stroke through his short, thick hair, enjoying every touch.

"God, you smell good", he mumbled against her neck. "You're wearing a different perfume."

"No", she objected. "I just wear it very rarely. Just on special occasions."

She felt him smiling, and he started nibbling on her neck which made her chuckle and raise her shoulders a bit. "I dare you to give me a hickey", she joked, turning her head to look at him.

"Don't tempt me", he answered, his voice muffled for his face was still buried. She felt him sucking on her skin, and she leaned forward to escape from him.

"I'm serious", she said but her voice lost some of its authority when she could not avoid laughing a bit. "No visible hickeys."

"Challenge accepted", he said with a grin, pulling her close again, closer than before. His chin rested on her shoulder, his head leaned on hers, she could feel his heartbeat on her back and felt her own pulse faster than usual.

"I'm glad we're here", she suddenly said, looking straight forward to the slowly darkening horizon. The first stars were already visible

"Me too", he mumbled, kissing her cheek. "I'm glad you agreed."

"I could never refuse such a sweet invitation." She turned her head to look at him. Her heart felt as if it was about to burst out of her chest. "I love you." Her voice was only a whisper as she said these three words, and she didn't know herself what had moved her to say them, but she knew they were true, she knew it since the time she asked him to join her for dinner.

He looked her in the eyes, not changing his position in any way. Her breath was shallow and fast, this time she was not able to hide what her body did.

It was too early, it was wrong, you should have never said that, it will chase him away, this is not what he wants… thousand thoughts ran though her mind in the course of a few seconds, those few seconds between her saying these three words and his reply.

"I love you too, Elizabeth", he said with a voice that left it unambiguously that he meant what he said.

She was not able to breath anymore, not in a thousand years she would have expected him to say it back, but here he did it, he said it, and he meant it! Without wasting another moment she kissed him, kissed him with all her love she felt towards him, kissed him happier than she had been in years, kissed him knowing, that she had no idea where this would lead, kissed him so dearly it almost overwhelmed her when she felt the same intensity in his kiss.

TBC

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I hope you enjoyed reading the third chapter. Again I am sorry for the mistakes of spelling and the misuse of words if there are any, but English is still not my first language.

I love reading reviews and I am constantly trying to improve my writing so if you liked or disliked this story or something in particular don't hesitate to tell me about it :)

Thank you for reading 3


	4. Chapter 4

"Dr. Weir?" Elizabeth and John heard an unwelcomed voice asking, luckily the person who spoke was not really here, it was only the radio going off,

"They got to be kidding me," John growled when Elizabeth retreated from the kiss and got up unwillingly to get her radio.

"Yes, Rodney?" she asked, managing to keep her her aggravation about the interruption out of her voice, she succeeded pretty well.

"Elizabeth, have you seen Sheppard?" Rodney asked.

Elizabeth shot John a look. "No, I haven't", she finally lied, nobody needed to know that they were together in this moment. "Why?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I just found something that would be of interest for him", Rodney replied, sounding disappointed. "I think he deactivated his radio. I can't reach him."

"Maybe he just ignores you" John mumbled with a low voice so only Elizabeth was able to understand the words. She chuckled inaudibly.

"I'm sorry to hear that Rodney, is there anything else?" she asked, she really wanted to end this conversation and get back to John.

"Where are you? I haven't seen you either in the last hour. What is this noise in the background?" Rodney said without answering her question.

Elizabeth sighed. "It's the ocean, Rodney. I took a break to take a walk on the outer skirts of the city."

"Oh, sorry," Rodney said hastingly. "Enjoy your… walk." And he was off.

Elizabeth shook her had, John had stood up, embracing her now, wrenching the radio out of her hand and throwing it on the pile of blankets. "Thank god it was nothing important." she mumbled, burying her head in his neck. She felt his one hand in her hair, the other one slid down her back, coming to a rest on the small of her back, gently pulling her close.

"I should have thrown this thing in the water." John said in a low voice, nodding to the radio.

"No, you shouldn't." Elizabeth objected. "You know I'm in charge here and I bear the responsibility for my crew. If there is a problem, I have to be within reach."

"I know." John sighed, his finger drawing small circles on her back. "Anyway, I hoped this evening would belong only to us."

"It does." Elizabeth said, looking up into his eyes. "But there is always a chance that something happens where I or both of us have to go check it out."

John rested his forehead on hers and closed the eyes. "I know, Liz, I know."  
Her body gave a short shiver when he called her like this, he had never done it before, nobody had but it sounded wonderful and right. "You're okay?" in John's voice there was concern.

"Everything is perfect" she replied and caressed his cheek with her fingers. He turned his head and kissed the tips of her fingers.

Taking her hands into his own, he stated: "Your hands are always cold. We should change that."

"And how do you plan on achieving this goal?" she asked with a chuckle.

"Mmmh, just let me do my thing." His eyes sparkled their agitated sparkle when he let her go and stretched out the other blankets. "After you." he said with an inviting gesture to the floor.

Elizabeth sat down, the blankets were thick, and she could not feel the hard ground anymore. It was like sitting on a bed. He came beside her and the next thing she knew his hands where on her shoulders, tenderly pushing her back until she laid on the floor. She clasped her arms around his neck and pulled him with her, her lips seeking his, and only a moment later they found each other. His lips were warm and smooth.

Dear lord, he is a hell of a kisser, she thought as their tongues tangled around each other. She drew him nearer, sucking in the air of his lungs, her hand in his hair, which was messy even before she had touched it, the other hand sliding his back up and down, trying to touch as much of him as possible.

As much as she enjoyed his moment, her mind was never fully there, her work would not let her go tonight. She had a few reports to finish, a few talks with crew members to prepare and the city was always in danger to be discovered again.

Elizabeth suddenly realized that they were not longer kissing. "What's wrong?" she asked, irritation in her voice.

John was frowning down at her. "You were kinda… distracted."

Elizabeth closed her eyes for a moment. "I'm sorry, John. It is not easy for me to forget my work."

"That's not really a compliment." he replied and seemed a bit offended.

"I apologize" Elizabeth said, lifting her body a few inches up to kiss him on the cheek. "It's not your fault."

"Will this be always the case?" he asked. "You being absent while we're in the middle of… something?"

She swallowed and shook her head. "No, not always," she said slowly. "I'll try to get it off my mind, I promise."

"Maybe I can help you to keep the promise", John said with the sparkle back in his eyes. A moment later he pressed her back on the ground, kissing her intensely but not rushing anything. She kissed him back, thankful he didn't keep on about this topic. She was lucky to be here with him. She should appreciate it more and she wanted it.

Suddenly she felt his hand on one of her breasts, and she gave a quick hiss into his mouth, it was more an expression of surprise and excitement than it was of aversion. His hand softly knead her breast through her shirt and her bra and all of a sudden she could not get the thought off her mind what his hand would feel like on her bare skin. He leaned more into the kiss and his hand slid down her side to the bottom edge of her shirt. She tenderly bit his lip as he shoved the blouse up a bit and slipped his hand beneath it, his hand was a bit harsh from his work and of the weapons, but it was warm and strong. She felt it sliding up to her breasts, cupping the right one, still in the cup of her bra. His mouth left her lips and slowly wandered down her neck, sucking playfully on her skin and down her collarbone, one moment he kissed her, the other moment his tongue tasted and teased her skin.

He unbuttoned the first button of her blouse and pressed a light kiss between her breasts, this touch drew a faint gasp from her lips. She felt John smiling and unbuttoning the rest of her shirt exposing her flat stomach and her bra. One finger drew a line from her bellybutton to her throat, his lips following the invisible line, lingering between her breasts. Those little touches, the sensation of his mouth and tongue, the fondness with which he took care of her showed her how much this meant to him too.

Elizabeth thrust her head back, enjoying the touch of his lips and hands more than anything. It had been so long since somebody had touched her like this, with this tenderness. She felt his fingers playing with the brim of her bra, one hand slipped beneath it, touching the delicate skin with his own rough one, she gasped, louder than before, and as if John wanted to suck in every noise she made he covered her mouth with his.

Now her hand started to work on his shirt, unbuttoning it one by one, shoving it over his shoulders. Without letting go of her lips he slipped of the shirt and threw it away. As he leaned down to her, she felt his muscular stomach on hers, his chest hair tickling her skin.

They kissed deeper now more intimate than before, hands of both of them wandering over the body of each, exploring. She felt his muscles flexing on his back. She loved his back, she loved the feeling of his skin, the feeling of him being so close, his lips on hers, just everything. She moved one hand beneath her back and opened her bra. He must have felt what she did because he lifted her up into a sitting position, again not letting go of her lips. He first removed her blouse and one moment later her bra, his hand immediately cupping her bare breasts.

Suddenly Elizabeth was fully aware of what they did. They were not on a hidden place; everyone could find them, everyone could see them from one of the towers or when one went for a walk. She put her hands on his shoulders and held him back a little.

He looked at her questioningly, the tips of his thumbs gently brushing over her nipples that became hard really quick.

"If somebody finds us..." she whispered. "Anybody can see us." To her surprise she saw him shaking his head.

"I searched days for this place. You really think of me being so reckless?" He kissed the nape of her neck and she closed her eyes. "Nobody can see us from the main tower or the quarters. They could only find us if they come along the way we came and I highly doubt that."

When she relaxed again, he pushed her back into a laying position, bending his head down to kiss the spot between her breasts while his hands were massaging them softly.

When his mouth covered her left breast, sucked a bit on her hard nipple and the tongue played around it she wheezed again. Her hand clenched in his hair, the other one laid flat on his back, the muscles moved beneath it.

He sucked again, his tongue went from the tip of her breast drawing circles that grew slowly until they covered it completely. "You are so beautiful", he whispered, looking up just to find Elizabeth's head thrust back, eyes closed. "Damn, you look hot." The words were out before he could stop himself.

Elizabeth lifted her head and raised one eyebrow. "You haven't seen everything yet." She could see that there was movement in his pants and smiled. "Don't you stop now."  
"Never in a thousand years." He mumbled and kissed her other breast, so they would be even. Elizabeth's breath was heavy now, it felt so good, so damn good. John seemed to know what he liked, or it was just what he did with every woman. But what was this important for? He was here now, with her. He chose to be here. He wanted it as much as she wanted it.

John was still over her, kissing her neck again, going on indulging her breasts with his hand. His lips found their way back to her mouth and she kissed him longing for more. She sincerely hoped they would not stop now. John did not disappoint her, as he moved closer to her she could feel his erection on her thigh and as if he heard her thoughts his hand slid down her naked upper body to her waistband and even lower until his hand laid between her legs, directly on her middle. Her hip moved against it, she was not in a position where she could control it. Her body was restrained from contact like this for a long, long time. She did not put hand on herself, so this was truly the first time in almost two years somebody touched her like this.

She felt him smile and knew that it was a smug smile so in return she slid her hand down his bare chested body and reached down to touch the bulge in his pants. He gasped in surprise, pushing her a bit harder down on the floor, moving his hip as if he was asking for more. She did not fail him and started to rub his erection through the pants. The movement of his hand had stopped, it seemed like he had to concentrate a lot. She stopped too after a moment, also quitting to kiss him and looked him in the eyes, gently touching his cheek with her hands.

"Damn, your hands are still could." he said panting. "Wait, we'll have that fixed in a minute."

"Oh, I hope it'll be more than a minute." she said with a chuckle that he responded.

He sat up and slid down between her legs, pulling off her pants and panties. She could see him being breathless for a moment as he saw her completely exposed. But his breath came back a moment later to Elizabeth's luck because he bent his head and kissed her right on her pink. Her hands clenched into the blankets and she moaned, she hadn't heard herself making this noise in a long time and the look John gave her made her understand that he had never heard her made it either, she believed that he didn't even know she was able to make such a sound. He bend down once more now sucking on the small bundle of nerved that was so delicate and sensitive. She moaned again, her hip moving up so she would be closer to him.

His tongue was in her, first it slid up the chap then it was truly in her. His name drew off her lips, and he dipped his tongue into her, playful, but knowing exactly what to do. She felt him licking all the wetness, felt him sucking her clit, felt his tongue inside and his finger massaging her at the same time. It was so much at the same time, it almost drove her crazy. "John..." she moaned, reaching down, finding his hair, clenching it. "Jo-ohn."

She knew what he had in mind, he wanted her to come in his hands, not because of other parts of his body but because of his tongue and his fingers. "No" she gasped, holding him back as he wanted to lick her again. On his surprised look she added: "I want you… all of you."

His look was both astonishment and complete delight at the same time when he sat up, stripping of his pants and boxers and laid down beside her. She gently pushed him on the back and sat up herself, one leg on either side of him on his thighs. Now his face was nothing but surprise, especially when he folded her hand around his erection, which was bigger than she had expected and started to rub it slowly but with pressure. A groan spilled over his lips as she watched him, his body trembling. She shifted forward until his member was beneath her, and slowly she lead him inside of her. It was not possible to let this happen without a moan, she sank down until she sat completely on his hip, she felt his greatness inside of her, it was big, really big and it felt awfully good. She lifted her hip so high that he was almost completely out of her body but she pushed it in again by lowering herself upon it.

Her eyes lay on John the whole time, his features looked especially good in the candle light and the light of the stars, even now she could see the sparkle in his eyes when he pushed his hip gently up and down, just in the rhythm as she lowered herself down on him. His hands reached out, one to cup her breast the other one to tenderly rub her clit. A loud moan came upon her lips and she thrust back her head, her body overwhelmed with sensations. "Oh John!" she moaned when he suddenly turned her around, now he was the one on the top, bending down to her, kissing her mouth and pushing himself inside of her. She spread her legs to invite him in, the change of the position made her moan into the kiss, she bit his lip and moved against him, her hands clasping on his back. He moved with big, expansive gestures inside of her, each push got a bit deeper, felt a bit better. "Liz", she heard him growl beneath her ear, one moment before his lips sucked on her neck. Her fingernails stitched into his back, and she could tell that it aroused him even more. He gently bit her neck and made her move a bit faster.

She wrapped her legs around his hips. The new position allowed him to drill even deeper inside of her. She moaned his name, moaned without any words, her heart was racing, her body was moving on its own, she had no control anymore. Their bodies mold into one, they moved like they were one, in the same rhythm that steadily got faster. She felt him rock into her harder and harder. His hands were now on either side of her head, she could she his face, strained in endeavor, thrusting harder with every push. It hurt, but it was a good pain, a pain that drove her nearer and nearer the edge. "John", she cried out, anxious to feel more, to feel him deeper, deeper and deeper. "Yes!" she cried. "Oh John, yes!" She pulled him down, kissing him wildly, moving her hips against him, feeling the climax coming closer. She didn't want it to end and yet she almost couldn't bear the tension in her body anymore. "John, please!" she begged, his groans and pants arousing her more than she could put into words. "Oh John!" A few pushes later and she fell over the edge, not seeing anything but sparkles, her body in complete ecstasy, trembled under John's, reared up and became still. John came a second later, shouting out her name in the night and collapsing on her body, heavily panting.

She had lost complete track of time. She could feel the heat of his body, the sweat covering both of them, but no words could ever describe what John had just made her feel. He shifted a bit and sank down beside her, eyes closed, breath fast and deep. Elizabeth turned on the side to look at him, her fingertips wandered over his arm to his chest. "They are finally warm," he mumbled and looked at her.

She smiled and bent down to brush his lips with a kiss. "Yes, they are."

"Let's not get them cold again", John said and opened his arms to invite her to cuddle.

Elizabeth settled down close besides him, before he wrapped his arm around her he pulled the last blanked over both of them, now that they were not moving anymore it was getting a little bit cold. She turned around so they were spooning, she had never felt so safe in her life, not since she knew what danger waited for them in this galaxy. John gave her everything in this moment, and she hoped sincerely that this evening was not the last one. He gave her a kiss between the shoulder blades and made her shiver once more. She knew that he was smiling even though she could not see it.

"That", he said in a low voice, "Was the best evening I had in a long time."

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So here is finally the last chapter of my sparky fanfic, this chapter is for Victoria because she was the one who motivated me to finish this story. Thank you for reading 3


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